Measuring Learners’ Co-Occurring Emotional Responses during Their Interaction with a Pedagogical Agent in MetaTutor

Hostile and Hardened? An Experimental Study on (De-)Sensitization to Violence and Suffering Through Playing Video Games

Swiss Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1024/1421-0185.67.1.41 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 67 (1) ◽

pp. 41-50 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Frithjof Staude-Müller ◽

Thomas Bliesener ◽

Stefanie Luthman

Keyword(s):

Video Games ◽

Emotional Responses ◽

Physiological Measurement ◽

Different Types ◽

Downward Spiral ◽

Spiral Model ◽

Post Hoc ◽

Game Violence ◽

First Person Shooter ◽

Physiological Reactions

This study tests whether playing violent video games leads to desensitization and increased cardiovascular responding. In a laboratory experiment, 42 men spent 20 min playing either a high- or low-violence version of a “first-person shooter” game. Arousal (heart rate, respiration rate) was measured continuously. After playing the game, emotional responses to aversive and aggressive stimuli - pictures from Lang, Bradley, and Cuthbert’s (1999) International Affective Picture System - were assessed with self-ratings and physiological measurement (skin conductance). Results showed no differences in the judgments of emotional responses to the stimuli. However, different effects of game violence emerged in the physiological reactions to the different types of stimulus material. Participants in the high-violence condition showed significantly weaker reactions (desensitization) to aversive stimuli and reacted significantly more strongly (sensitization) to aggressive cues. No support was found for the arousal hypothesis. Post-hoc analyses are used to discuss possible moderating influences of gaming experience and player’s trait aggressiveness in terms of the General Aggression Model ( Anderson & Bushman, 2001 ) and the Downward Spiral Model ( Slater, Henry, Swaim, & Anderson, 2003 ).

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The Therapist’s Reaction to a Patient’s Suicide

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000062 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 99-105 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Friedrich Martin Wurst ◽

Isabella Kunz ◽

Gregory Skipper ◽

Manfred Wolfersdorf ◽

Karl H. Beine ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emotional Responses ◽

Well Being ◽

Emotional Reaction ◽

Emotional Reactions ◽

Analog Scale ◽

General Hospitals ◽

Item Questionnaire ◽

Retrospective Nature ◽

The Impact ◽

Over Time

Background: A substantial proportion of therapists experience the loss of a patient to suicide at some point during their professional life. Aims: To assess (1) the impact of a patient’s suicide on therapists distress and well-being over time, (2) which factors contribute to the reaction, and (3) which subgroup might need special interventions in the aftermath of suicide. Methods: A 63-item questionnaire was sent to all 185 Psychiatric Clinics at General Hospitals in Germany. The emotional reaction of therapists to patient’s suicide was measured immediately, after 2 weeks, and after 6 months. Results: Three out of ten therapists suffer from severe distress after a patients’ suicide. The item “overall distress” immediately after the suicide predicts emotional reactions and changes in behavior. The emotional responses immediately after the suicide explained 43.5% of the variance of total distress in a regression analysis. Limitations: The retrospective nature of the study is its primary limitation. Conclusions: Our data suggest that identifying the severely distressed subgroup could be done using a visual analog scale for overall distress. As a consequence, more specific and intensified help could be provided to these professionals.

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Investigation of the Effect of Mode and Tempo on Emotional Responses to Music Using EEG Power Asymmetry

Journal of Psychophysiology ◽

10.1027/0269-8803/a000099 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 27 (3) ◽

pp. 142-148 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Konstantinos Trochidis ◽

Emmanuel Bigand

Keyword(s):

Left Hemisphere ◽

Right Hemisphere ◽

Emotional Responses ◽

Interactive Effects ◽

Eeg Activity ◽

Musical Excerpt ◽

Major Mode ◽

Musical Modes ◽

Slow Tempo ◽

The Right

The combined interactions of mode and tempo on emotional responses to music were investigated using both self-reports and electroencephalogram (EEG) activity. A musical excerpt was performed in three different modes and tempi. Participants rated the emotional content of the resulting nine stimuli and their EEG activity was recorded. Musical modes influence the valence of emotion with major mode being evaluated happier and more serene, than minor and locrian modes. In EEG frontal activity, major mode was associated with an increased alpha activation in the left hemisphere compared to minor and locrian modes, which, in turn, induced increased activation in the right hemisphere. The tempo modulates the arousal value of emotion with faster tempi associated with stronger feeling of happiness and anger and this effect is associated in EEG with an increase of frontal activation in the left hemisphere. By contrast, slow tempo induced decreased frontal activation in the left hemisphere. Some interactive effects were found between mode and tempo: An increase of tempo modulated the emotion differently depending on the mode of the piece.

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The Effect of Searching Versus Surfing on Cognitive and Emotional Responses to Online News

Journal of Media Psychology Theories Methods and Applications ◽

10.1027/1864-1105.21.2.49 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 49-59 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Kevin Wise ◽

Hyo Jung Kim ◽

Jeesum Kim

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Skin Conductance ◽

Skin Conductance Level ◽

Emotional Responses ◽

Online News ◽

Self Report ◽

Mixed Design ◽

Information Need ◽

News Stories ◽

Rate Acceleration

A mixed-design experiment was conducted to explore differences between searching and surfing on cognitive and emotional responses to online news. Ninety-two participants read three unpleasant news stories from a website. Half of the participants acquired their stories by searching, meaning they had a previous information need in mind. The other half of the participants acquired their stories by surfing, with no previous information need in mind. Heart rate, skin conductance, and corrugator activation were collected as measures of resource allocation, motivational activation, and unpleasantness, respectively, while participants read each story. Self-report valence and recognition accuracy were also measured. Stories acquired by searching elicited greater heart rate acceleration, skin conductance level, and corrugator activation during reading. These stories were rated as more unpleasant, and their details were recognized more accurately than similar stories that were acquired by surfing. Implications of these results for understanding how people process online media are discussed.

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